The Power of an Effective Mantra: Lululemon 

What is a mantra?

A mantra is a short statement that summarizes why an organization exists. Another way to think about a mantra is that it’s a statement that motivates the organization internally toward its common goal. We’re going to dissect Lululemon’s mantra, “To elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness,” and analyze its significance with respect to the organization’s goals. 

Dissecting Lululemon’s mantra

Lululemon’s mantra is stressing that they are striving for quality over anything. Their customers deserve the highest quality product, and Lululemon uses their mantra to highlight to the internal organization that this should motivate their work. They want to provide a high-quality product, high-quality customer service, and an exceptional in-store shopping experience.

Importance of a Mantra in Positioning a Product 

Creating a mantra is important because it allows you to take your target audience, or frame of reference, points of difference, and points of parity to create a summary that motivates your company internally.

Positioning a brand refers to the idea of the place that a brand takes up in a consumer’s mind, how they perceive the brand and how they differentiate it from other competing brands. Brand positioning is important because it allows a brand to leverage that positioning and maximize benefits when done correctly. Once you have defined the target market and what differentiates your brand from the competition, it’s time to create a mantra to cement your brand’s positioning and image.  

Designing your Mantra                                                                                                                  Your mantra should have three main qualities; it should communicate your point of difference, be simple, and inspire your organization internally. 

Communicate your USP

This is where you should communicate your points of difference or unique selling proposition (USP). Your unique selling proposition is what differentiates you from the competition and makes you unique. For example, Lululemon’s mantra describes their unique selling proposition: quality. Lululemon clarifies their USP by discussing how they strive for greatness and won’t settle for mediocrity.

Simple

Your mantra should be simple and easy to understand. The idea is to communicate a message quickly and make it easily digestible. It’s not effective communication if your audience can’t easily understand it. Lululemon does just that by keeping the mantra brief and transparent with their word choice; “mediocrity to greatness.” It’s easy to understand and doesn’t require much interpretation.  

Inspire

Finally, your mantra should inspire. It should inspire your internal organization in a fashion that helps them work effectively towards a common goal. Mantras should drive an organization internally to achieve their goals, which in Lululemon’s case is to provide a high-quality product in a high-quality manner.

Key Takeaway 

Mantras are a powerful way to internally motivate your organization to work towards and accomplish your goals. In Lululemon’s case, they strive to produce a high-quality product for their consumers, and their mantra affirms that. Whereas many slogans, visions, and mission statements target the consumers, mantras are vital because they help the people within an organization realize and attain their goals. A company’s success heavily relies on its ability to communicate clear goals. Without clear direction and motivation, things can get messy, but having a mantra establishes internal goals and makes them more easily attainable.